Gone Astray
by AllycatFelton
Summary: *Complete* Draco and Hermione get lost in the Forbidden Forest, and find more than snow in the endless expanse of trees. Written in response to the GE December Challenge. Huge thanks to Lilly Evins for betaing.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: JKR owns it all, and I don't make any money by writing this, I just do it because I am bored a lot :)

"We're lost," Hermione stated matter-of-factly for the millionth time. They had been walking for miles, and she could have sworn she had already seen that exact tree they just passed at least three or four times.

"I told you, we are NOT lost!" Draco Malfoy growled the same answer in his same irritated scowl.

"Pshh… walking around aimlessly freezing our arses off for over two hours and we're not lost, huh?" she said, glaring at him. It was his fault they were lost, he had been leading the way after all.

"We'd only be lost if we didn't know where we are. I know exactly where we are. We're in the Forbidden Forest," he sneered pompously.

"Precisely the reason we're lost! We don't want to be in the Forbidden Forest anymore, we got the Unicorn hairs over and hour ago. Now we should be back in Hogsmead where we'd be able to apparate and I'd be home already! So excuse me 'Oh Great Leader Ferret Man,' but we are lost!"

"Thank you Captain Obvious. So we're lost, and if we don't find our way back soon we are likely be eaten by some crazed fanged monster of that barbaric oaf you're so fond of. And even if we do somehow survive off meals of yellow snow cones and dirt, we'll just end up killing each other. So please forgive me for trying to keep a positive outlook and be a man, so as not to frighten your poor scared little girl brain."

"Oh, please," she said, rolling her eyes. "The day you become a man is the day Gregory Goyle is elected Minister for Magic."

They continued to walk on, their breaths creating steamy clouds in the otherwise clear night air. Every now and then they would hear crunching snow or breaking branches beyond their line of sight. They both were well equipped with their wands though, so there was no reason to be afraid… yet.

"You know, I almost don't want to get home, I'm just really enjoying our time together oh so much. It'll be a shame when I get back to my nice warm mansion, and don't have any obnoxious know-it-alls to squawk in my ear."

"If you're lucky maybe I'll stop by and visit you and good ol' Lucy."

"If I'm lucky my father will find out your cute little nickname for him and turn you into a pair of mittens and a matching scarf so I can begin to feel my face again!"

"Well if I'm lucky your lips will freeze together and I won't have to listen to any more excuses for why you got us lost!"

"Why I got us lost!? You're the reason we're even here in the first place! If I do recall, you insisted on discarding all the hairs we already had because you decided they weren't worthy enough for wand cores, and without even consulting me, sold them to the apothecary for potion ingredients. A hair is a hair! And no hair is worth ruining my 500 galleon dragon hide boots for!"

"Who wears 500 galleon boots in a forest? If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were trying to impress me," she smirked, raising a snowflake encrusted eyebrow at him.

"Humph," was his only response. He crossed his arms and pouted, while Hermione stifled her laughter in her gloved hands.

They two most unlikely business partners walked along in silence for a while. Hermione's mind started to drift back to how they had ended up stuck together, constantly bickering like an old married couple. After the war had ended, and Draco discovered that he had been the Master of the Elder Wand without even knowing it, he had become practically obsessed with wandlore. He had moved to the States to study under one of the great wand makers there, because it was rumored that Mr. Olivander had already taken on an apprentice. Little did he know, Hermione had been said apprentice.

After two years of working under the old wizard, the one and only Olivander had passed away, leaving Hermione to take on the heavy load by herself. To her dismay, she found she just could not keep up with the extreme demand for wands in the years after the war. Not only were the thousands of wands that were kept in the store completely destroyed by Death Eaters, but half the wizarding population that had fought in the war had broken theirs as well, and impatiently awaited replacements. She had no choice but to hire someone to help her, which meant that she had no choice but to hire Draco, as he was the only one who applied for the position.

That was three years ago, and although neither one would ever admit it, they had become quite fond of one another, or more or less accustomed to each others' presence. America had changed Draco in many ways. He was away from the influence of his father for the first time in his life, and surrounded by muggleborns and half-bloods, as there were no surviving pureblooded families in Salem.

Draco's muttered cursing brought Hermione back to the present.

"Dammit… so bloody cold… worst – idea—EVER!"

"Would you like some cheese with that whine, Malfoy?" she snickered at him. He really did look quite ridiculous in his expensive but highly impractical black wizards cloak and pointed boots. He wasn't even wearing any gloves or a hat! His shoulders were hunched forward and hands clamped together inside of his robes, in a vein attempt to keep warm.

'What an idiot.'

"You think you're funny, don't you? Well you want to know what I think is funny?"

"That booger hanging from your nose?" she suggested innocently.

"What!? I do not!" he shouted indignantly. While he was scrunching up his nose and sniffing, trying to figure out if she was telling the truth, she pelted him in the face with a show ball and ran away, howling with laughter.

"I'll get you for that one! Get back here!" he shouted, stomping his foot on the frozen ground. He heard her squeal of laughter off in the distance, groaned at the sky in a tone that clearly stated 'Why me!?' and took off after her.


	2. Chapter 2

BIGGEST HUGEST THANKS EVER to all of you who reviewed the first chapter!! And to Lilly Evins for Betaing

Disclaimer: JKR owns it all.

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"Granger…" Draco wheezed, running towards Hermione's softly echoing footsteps, his head bent forward against the wind. "Stop…. I'm dying… holy Hell… fastest woman alive…" He made it a few more steps before he doubled over, coughing and gasping for air as if he had just smoked four cartons of cigarettes before participating in a triathlon. A little ways away, Hermione heard all the obnoxious heaving and retraced her steps to see what all the fuss was about.

"Now that's just sad," she stated bluntly, shaking her head in amusement. "What happened to Mr. Quidditch star?"

"Last… I checked… he killed… Voldy… and now… he takes… it up… the ass…"

Hermione smirked at this. It wasn't often that Draco admitted he wasn't the best at anything, especially when compared to Harry, though the snide remark about Harry's newly discovered sexual orientation canceled out the almost compliment.

"What Harry does in his personal time is none of your business. At least he can keep up with me," she replied, leaning casually against a tree.

"I let… you win…" he huffed out, still trying to catch his breath.

"That would be a lot more convincing said by someone who doesn't sound like a chain-smoking asthmatic."

"You cheated… you're a freak…"

She rolled her eyes, stomped over to him like it was against her better judgment, and hooked her arm around his. "Come on," she grumbled, pulling him along. "There's something you've got to see."

Nearly ten minutes later the trees had thinned out, and bits of sky were visible beyond the bare branches.

"This is where I was when I heard you hyperventilating. We're almost out!" she squealed excitedly.

"Of course we are. I told you we weren't lost," he replied, his haughty exterior renewed from the much slower walk.

"Oh shush," she said half-heartedly. Everything seemed much funnier now that she knew they weren't lost. Her step gained a little skip to it and she started to hum to herself, as the stars overhead twinkled merrily down at the pair, the trees becoming fewer and far between.

"Why are you humming?"

"Because I don't know the words… Obviously."

"Well would you stop?"

"Of course," she responded sweetly. "Gone astray, is a new bird… Here today, is a blue bird… La-la-la-la-la, the Eskimo way… Walking in a winter wonderland…"

"Granger, what exactly do you think you're doing?"

"I'm SINGINGGG!!!" she yelled into the night air, twirling around so her cloak billowed out around her, her arms raised as if welcoming the slowly falling snowflakes. Draco found it hard to keep the straight face necessary in order to effectively mock her.

"Oh right, how silly of me, I thought a hoard of mandrakes were dying," he stated flatly.

"Oh bugger off, where's your Christmas spirit?"

"At home in my nice warm bed, with my 400 thread-count Egyptian cotton sheets."

"You're a spoiled little brat. You do know that, right?"

He took a few quick steps to get ahead of her, one step sideways to cut her off, and spun on the spot. Not expecting him to stop so suddenly, she stumbled into his unmoving form, and had to grab his waist for support.

"Walk much, Granger?" he snickered down at the top of her bushy head, placing his hands on her shoulders to steady her.

"Sorry, I didn't know you were trying out for the part of 'Brick Wall' in the upcoming performance of 'Hogwarts Final Battle on Ice," she muttered into the front of his robes, trying her best not to notice how good he smelled. It must just be the bitter cold meddling with her neural functions, though it wasn't as noticeable with Draco shielding most of her body.

"Ha, ha, you are so funny," he scoffed sarcastically. "Actually, I just realized I couldn't let you be misinformed about something, because I know how much you like to be right about everything and anything. I am not spoiled, I'm cherished. There's a difference."

He was still holding her. 'Why was he still holding her!?'

'Damn it Hermione! Think of something funny… Think of something funny…

I wonder if the rumors are true…

No, gross! Bad thoughts… bad thoughts… bad thoughts!'

"Hello? Earth to Granger!" Draco broke her trance, waving his hand in front of her face.

"What do you want for Christmas?" she asked sincerely, completely out of nowhere. Their eyes met, and he placed his hand back on her shoulder, though she had gained her footing minutes earlier and his support was no longer necessary. Her lips were pursed in concentration, his tilted in his trademark half-smirk. She was frantically searching his crystal grey pools for some kind of truth, but they remained unreadable.

Neither seemed to notice that they hadn't moved or spoken in quite some time, and that their lips, red from the cold, were slowly inching towards one another. Their noses gently touched, she could smell the sweet mint on his breath, see the wayward snowflakes that stuck to his thick blonde lashes… Her eyes fluttered closed…

Draco turned his head and coughed into his hand, startling Hermione, who instantly took a step backwards, awkwardly straightening her coat.

"Nothing, Granger," Draco mumbled hoarsely. "There's nothing I could ask for that I don't already have."

"Oh," was her simple, crestfallen response. "We should get a move on, it can't be much farther now."

He didn't reply, just took a step around her, and ran full out towards the edge of the trees.

"Try and beat me now!" he shouted over his shoulder.

"Cheater!" she called back to him, taking off at full speed.

He did beat her, but only because they didn't have that far to go, and because he hadn't played fairly to begin with.

It took a second for their brains to adjust to what it was they were seeing. They were standing on the edge of a vast, frozen lake, covered with a light layer of snow. It stretched as far as the eye could see by the light of the moon, everything else was a blanket of darkness.

"Just our luck to get stuck on the far side of the Black Lake, this will take forever to walk around," Draco moaned.

"No," Hermione whispered softly. "It can't be."

"What do you mean 'no,' where else could we be?"

"I don't know, but this isn't the Black Lake."

"How would you know? We can't even see the other side."

"Have you ever read Hogwarts, a History?" she asked, though she already knew the answer.

"What do you think, Granger?" he sneered back.

"Fine, well then, if you had read it you would know that this can't be the Black Lake, because the Black Lake can't freeze!" she yelled exasperatedly, a note of panic clearly evident in her high-pitched voice.

"Ok… Then where does Hogwarts, a History say we are?"

"It doesn't."

"Then where are we?"

"I have no idea."

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A/N: If anyone knows how to do italics on this site could you please let me know? Like leave it in a review or email me at Thanks!


	3. Chapter 3

"Nice going Granger, you managed to get us even more lost than we already were!"

"So you're finally admitting that we're lost?" she asked, still staring out over the flat surface of lake, her eyes narrowed in a vein attempt to see through the unrelenting darkness.

"Yes, as long as you admit that it's all your fault."

"Don't even go there, Malfoy. If you hadn't gotten us lost in the first place, then I couldn't have gotten us more lost, so then we wouldn't be lost at all!"

"Psycho babble logic might work on the Dynamic Dunderhead Duo, but I think you're forgetting who you're dealing with."

"Malfoy," she said in a strained voice, pinching her nose to stem to impending explosion. "Arguing about who's to blame until we freeze to death, when we both know that this is completely your fault, obviously isn't helping. We need a plan. If we could just retrace our steps-" She paused, staring dumbstruck at Malfoy's hastily retreating form. "Stop right there!" she called out in her naturally bossy tone. "Where do you think you're going!?"

"This way," he replied sharply, pointing at the pitch black that they assumed to be the opposite side of the lake, without turning to look at her.

"But you can't! It's much too dangerous. You could- well, you could fall in, obviously. You could slip and fall and crack your head open and then fall in. And, not to mention, we don't know what could be living in this frozen body of water, because we don't even know where it is! Any number of creatures could be hiding just under the surface waiting for some stupid hothead to go striding across the ice!"

"Good Gods Granger, have you always been such an uptight nag? It's perfectly safe," he shrugged, jumping up and down on the frozen surface of the lake to prove his point. "No need to get your knickers in a twist."

Hermione wasn't convinced.

"Just come back here and we can walk around, since you are so insistent on getting to the other side. I think that is a very fair compromise," Hermione pleaded with him, while keeping up the businesslike pretense. It was Malfoy after all. She couldn't appear too concerned about his wellbeing.

"See you on the other side then," he waved her off. Torn between not wanting to die a watery death, wanting to stay together, and not wanting Malfoy to get his way, Hermione was glued to the spot with her hands balled in frustration.

"Damn it, Malfoy! When they find our frozen carcasses in a hundred years, remind me to tell you 'I told you so!'" she shouted, cautiously tip-toeing her way across the ice to catch up with him.

"You are just hilarious, Granger," he said in a mock-serious voice. "Carry on like that and you might just 'crack up' the ice." He snorted in laughter at his own pathetic attempt at a joke, and Hermione followed suit by rolling her eyes at him.

"Please tell me I won't be listening to any more of your comedy routine."

"Says the girl who sings like a musical saw."

"Oh shut up," she grumbled, pushing him playfully on the shoulder while trying to hide the large grin that was threatening to take over. He slid and had to use a lot of flailing arms to keep his balance. The creeping grin transformed into a lot of laughs that even Malfoy couldn't help but to join in, though he was doing his best to look pissed off.

"You know, you almost look human when you smile," she said thoughtfully after they had recovered themselves.

"And you'd almost be sexy if you were naked," he replied automatically. She sucked on her lip, like she always did when she was in deep thought. She couldn't decide if she should be angered or flattered by his comment. She glanced at him. His grey pools were darkened and wracking her body, like he was undressing her with his eyes. Could he really want to see her naked? Did she really want him to?

'Oh Gods, yes! Err... no! No, no, no, no, NO!

…Liar.

Damn you brain!'

She fisted her hands in her hair, trying to rid her mind of any thoughts in of or pertaining to Draco Malfoy, but it was difficult when he was inches away from her and smirking like he knew exactly what she was thinking.

They continued their journey across the lake in silence for a while. They could both feel the sexual tension in the air like static electricity. It wasn't often that they went so long without a snarky remark or semi-insult to throw at one another. It was very strange.

While Hermione was busy reflecting on the strangeness of the silence, her foot caught on a chunk of ice, and suddenly she found herself flying face first towards the glassy surface of the lake. She put her hands out in front of her but knew that it was no use… she was falling too fast. Visions of the surface cracking from the force of her fall, and diving straight into its icy depths clogged her vision, and she shut her eyes, preparing for the impact.

It never came. Strong male arms enclosed her upper body and set her back on her feet. Her deep sighs of relief into his chest filled her up with his musky scent.

"Thank you," she whispered softly into his cloak.

"You know, I've saved your life more than once on this trip alone, but that's the first time I've ever gotten a 'thank you' out of you. So… I suppose… you're welcome…" he finished, having great difficulty getting the words out for some reason.

She looked up at him and their eyes met. No emotion-masking smirk marred the intimate moment. He looked deathly serious, and his eyes were darkened with lust. She could feel the flutters of butterflies in her stomach but she couldn't look away. She found herself inching towards his parted lips, raising herself on her tiptoes. He tilted his head… Her eyes gently closed… He took a quick glance over her shoulder, and gasped audibly, straightening up to get a better look. Startled, Hermione took a step back, trying to hide the look of disappointment by staring pointedly at the ground.

"Granger, look!"

"What?"

Shaking his head, he took her shoulders and turned her around. Her mouth instantly opened as she sucked in an astonished breath. The outline of a small cabin or house was clearly evident against the midnight blue of the sky.

"Told you so," Draco said smugly. Hermione took a moment to glare at him. How he made it so easy to want to snog his brains out one minute and strangle him the next was beyond her comprehension.

"You didn't get us un-lost you know… Just because we i are /i somewhere, doesn't mean we know where we are!"

"Don't be jealous because I was right, as usual," he replied with a scowl. Pursing her lips and crossing her arms, Hermione stalked past him on her way to the cabin, trying to ignore Draco's new singing rendition of 'I was right and you were wrong."

'Stupid… cocky… bastard!'

"I was right and you were wrong… I was right and you were wrong… I was right and you were-"

His footsteps and singing had stopped. Rolling her eyes at nothing in particular, she spun around.

"Stop messing around and keep up. If you have, in fact, managed to find a way out, I want to get home already!"

"Granger, shut up!" he said in a loud whisper. His body was stock still, his arms out to the side as he stared around the ice, his eyes wide.

"Don't tell me to shut up! Who do you think you are!? You are just some stuck up, horrid little ferret who is going to need to find a new job when we get home!"

No sooner had she gotten out the words, then the ice cracked around Draco's unmoving form, and he fell straight into the watery abyss below.

"DRACO!" she shouted in a panic, surging forward to the hole in the ice without a second thought to her own safety.

"Accio Draco! ACCIO Draco!"

Nothing happened. The minutes ticked by, but Hermione had no idea what to do. She just kept pointing her wand at the deathly cold water shouting 'Accio!' with less and less conviction with every passing second. Too much time had gone by. Tears stung her eyes and froze on her cheeks, but she couldn't give up.

She loved him.

"ACCIO DRACO!"

At last, his coughing and sputtering form appeared in the black water. She caught one of his flailing arms as he fought to stay afloat, and pulled with all her might.

"Draco- Oh Draco I'm so sorry!" she panted heavily as she tried to pull him to safety.

"Herm- doesn't matter- just- PULL!" he huffed out.

One final tug and he was finally free of his frozen imprisonment. Hermione fell backwards from the force, and Draco fell on top of her. Instantly, Hermione felt the cold from his wet clothes chilling her to the bone.

"We've got to get off of here… it's not safe. Can you stand?" He was shaking severely, but he nodded his head and slowly inched his way off of her and to his feet. Hermione quickly removed her partially soaked coat and draped it over his shoulders. Partly supporting his weight with one arm around his middle, they slowly slipped and stumbled their way to the cabin on the edge of the lake.

Standing at the front door of the little log home, they peered into the small glass window. It was pitch black inside and looked like it had been deserted for some time. Hermione reached for her wand to perform the 'Alohomora' charm on the door.

"Oh no! My wand! I- it must have fallen out into the lake!" she shrieked, frantically feeling around in the pockets of her coat that was still around Draco's freezing form. Meanwhile, Draco had stepped forward and turned the handle. The door swung open easily to allow them entrance. The moonlight shining through the windows sent dusty shadows along the walls, but it was still too dark to make out anything clearly.

Hermione immediately bustled in and went searching for something of use.

"There's only one blanket," she announced after further inspection of the randomly placed cupboards on the walls.

"There's on- only one r- room," he said, looking around with a sour look on his face, the disgust in his voice evident even with his severely chattering teeth. They stopped walking, both shaking convulsively from the cold, then slowly turned to face one another.

"There's only one bed!

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AN: Thank you so much to everyone that reviewed!!


	4. Chapter 4

"So…"

"So…"

"S-s-so…"

"You need to get out of those wet clothes," Hermione stated bravely. Though she was determinedly not looking at Draco, she could clearly picture his blue tinged lips contorting into that damn smirk of his.

"A-a-after y-you."

There was definitely no reason to look at him. She could hear the smirk in his stuttered words. She thought she would very much like to hit him, only the gesture would undoubtedly force her to look at him, and experience had shown that the move wasn't entirely safe.

"Just give me your wand and I'll do my best to dry us off then," she snapped at him.

"N-no."

"What do you mean 'no'? That wasn't a request, Malfoy. It was an order. Either you give me your wand or you will _die_. As much as that will make for a much quieter and more peaceful Christmas Eve tomorrow, a Malfoy ice sculpture will clash horribly with the decorations."

"S-something t-t-took my w-wand in t-the w-w-water. S-stop your b-b-bitching and h-help me t-t-take off my p-pants, I c-can't feel m-m-my fingers," he said with an attempt at the sexy scowl he was known for, with a hint of the needy whine he used when he faked injury back in their third year at school. She would have loved to think he was faking this, but he was shaking so badly he couldn't even begin to take hold of his coat clasp, let alone undo it. He was pale even by his standards, with frozen strands of blonde hair sticking to his forehead, others dripping down the back of his neck.

They could use sarcasm and sneer at each other all they wanted, but it wasn't going to hide the truth in this case. And the truth of the matter was, that things had become serious. Malfoy could seriously not make it out alive if she couldn't bite back her pride and help him. He could literally become the frozen carcass or ice sculpture she had joked about, except now it wasn't a joke.

She knew what she had to do. Hermione dropped the solitary blanket onto the solitary bed and took a step towards him. She slowly reached out and took over Draco's struggle with his cloak clasp, and lifted the garment off his shoulders. It was weighed down from the partly frozen water, and fell to the floor behind him with a loud squelching thud that made Hermione jump.

He leaned into her touch, not saying a word. It was very unlike him to order her to do something, actually get his way, and then not mock her mercilessly for it. Hermione decided to fill in the gap with her own forced insults.

"You've done a lot of stupid things in your life," she said, now working on the buttons of his black collared shirt. "But this is by far the stupidest."

"I w-was t-t-trying to g-get us out of t-the f-forest so w-we could ap-parrate, w-which we pr-probably could d-do if we h-had our w-wands," he grumbled his response. Hermione only half heard him. She was concentrating hard on the job at hand, counting the buttons repetitively in her head. She was now halfway done, only four buttons to go on the soaking material. Her fingers kept brushing against the bare skin underneath, sending chills of excitement to the pit of her stomach, though she tried to explain them away to the bitter cold.

_Must… mock… Malfoy… Must fight off the power of that damn smirk of his!_

"Too bad you decided to go for a swim and now we are stuck in someone's decrepit little hut, with no supplies, no idea where we are, and no wands. Basically, we're doomed."

"W-well when y-you say it l-like that, of c-course it sounds b-bad," he scowled, lifting his arms to help her take his shirt off. It was thrown unceremoniously to the floor to join the frozen lump that was his cloak. Now all that was left was his pants and his silly boots.

"You can take your own boots off, can't you?"

"Y-yes, it's t-this zipper that's g-giving me t-t-trouble," he smirked at her.

Hermione almost choked on her tongue, while quickly retreating to the other side of the room as fast as her frozen feet would allow. It was in the negative degrees, they were soaking wet, and trust Draco Malfoy to make her feel all hot and bothered.

_Breathe… This is strictly professional. _

She slowly turned around, mustering up her best attempt at an irritated glare and stomped back over to him.

"B-bravo, Granger. L-little overdone w-with the s-stomping b-b-but I think overall n-not a b-b-bad performance. N-now b-be a g-g-good little w-witch and t-take off my p-pants."

"You're making it very easy to hate you right now…" she mumbled.

"Y-yes, too bad y-you don't."

"Says who?" she challenged, roughly tugging at his waistband, staring defiantly into his eyes.

"Me," he whispered huskily, leaning over so his lips were right against her ear, tickling the sensitive skin there. A shudder ran down her spine and through to the tips of her toes, and it had nothing to do with the cold. His shaking arms wrapped around her slim waist and pulled her into a graceful dip. At once, his lips claimed hers in a bruising, long overdue kiss. Her arms enveloped his neck, while she met his tongue with all the ferocity of starved lioness, delving into his mouth to reclaim the control she had momentarily surrendered when he kissed her so unexpectedly. Heat emanated from their points of contact. It felt so good… It felt so _right_. The flutters in her stomach, the whooshing feeling that was starting between her legs, the way his crunchy, frozen hair felt between her fingers- just _everything._ It was too perfect for words.

After the lack of oxygen finally forced them apart, Draco's hands flew to the bottom hem of Hermione's sweater. He lifted the partially drenched knit material over her stomach, realized she wore another underneath, and continued to pull it up and over her head. He then slid one hand under her turtleneck, softly caressing her smooth skin with a single, frozen finger. It really did feel like ice, and he was still shivering severely despite their heated snogging. She reached out her own shaking hand, and undid the zipper on his pants, then slowly pulled them down his sculpted thighs. His hipbones stood out clearly just above the band of his boxer shorts, and be damned if they weren't soaking wet as well.

"You should get under the blanket. You know… once you've umm… finished." She stood up as he shimmied his way out of his pants and boots. She had only just realized that he would have to get completely naked in order to be warm again.

"You're w-wet too," he pointed out.

_And getting wetter by the minute if you don't cover up and stop looking at me like that!_

"Yes well… I'll turn around, so you can get under the covers. Then you can turn away and close your eyes so I can get in. Then we'll just umm… sleep until morning, ok?" she finished with a squeak. Not a good time for her voice to go pubescent; she was trying to sound pro-sexual! Err… _professional!_

He didn't wait for her to turn around, just smoothly lowered his boxers, stepped out of them, and climbed into the bed. Hermione whipped around just in the knick of time, but had to fight with some unknown part of her brain that kept nagging at her to get a glimpse. She heard the squeaks of the old mattress as he got in, and cautiously turned, though she kept her eyes shut tight.

"T-this is d-definitely not s-sanitary," Malfoy grumbled, pulling the blanket around him.

"Well deal, and turn around and close your eyes so I can get in. I'm freezing."

She checked to make sure he was indeed looking away, then undressed as quickly as possible. She had worn layers like a sensible person, but somehow all of them seemed to be soaked through. She got down to her knickers and bra, which were only slightly damp, and decided to leave well enough alone.

"Scoot over," she ordered. He moved almost an entire inch to the side, and mumbling to herself about his immaturity, she crawled in.

"So… "

"So… "

"Goodnight then," she choked out.

"I'm n-not tired."

"Oh…"

There was silence for a while, the only noise being the rattling bedsprings from their shaking bodies.

"C-cold?" he asked her. She nodded her head, staring fixedly at the black ceiling.

He scooted closer.

"W-warmer?" he whispered. She shook her head no, lowering her lids and taking a deep, calming breath. His hand snaked its way over to her opposite hip and pulled her onto her side, so she would have to face him. Suddenly his body was up against her… Their noses were practically touching… His hot breath was tickling her cheek… His dark eyes gazing upon her heavily lidded ones, daring her to give in to him.

"Warmer?"

She finally met his penetrating gaze, and her icy limbs seemed to melt from the intensity. She shook her head no once again, as a playful smile graced her features.

She was silently saying yes to him…


	5. Chapter 5

This is the last chapter *tear* Huge thanks to all of you who read and reviewed! I thank you with smut I hope you enjoy :)

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Malfoy's smirk on his blue-tinged lips widened as he pulled her closer and wrapped a frozen leg around her, in a position that could be described as nothing less than intimate. The boundary was crossed. Whereas up to this point they could have brushed off any of the touching or flirting, or even the kiss as simply a way to stay warm and ialive/i, his leg and her gaze were the ticket out of the acquaintance zone and into something a whole lot less familiar. All the nonsense fighting and name-calling and sneering… was this really what it boiled down to?

"That's a little better," Hermione sighed, squirming only slightly when his leg tightened around her even more, making her realize that not all his parts were completely frozen. She gasped in shock.

_It's a wand! It's a flashlight! No, it's Malfoy's dick!_

Suddenly it was hot under the single blanket. _Really_ hot. She struggled to free herself but he only pulled her tighter, kissing her neck and she pushed against his chest to escape.

"Just surrender to it, Hermione. There's no use fighting. It's sexual tension. It happens when two attractive people end up naked in a bed together," Draco whispered in a soft growl, all the while nipping at her earlobes and collar. His teeth were no longer chattering and he was barely shivering. The wave of arousal seemed to have overpowered the cold.

"But… but…" was all she could respond. Maybe he was right. Maybe she was better off just giving in. Just then he thrust his hips against her thigh and she knew she had no other option.

He crawled on top of her, spreading her thighs with his knees and holding her arms over her head with his cold hands. He gently placed a kiss on her forehead and she closed her eyes. She could feel his hard length caressing her folds and it made her shiver, not just from the cold.

"Are you sure?" he asked her softly. She looked up at him and shook her head 'yes' without a second thought. It was all Draco needed to proceed. She spread her legs more to allow him better access, wrapping them around his waist and pulling him in towards her center. The head was barely penetrated when he was met with some resistance and he stopped.

"You're not a-?"

"No… it's just… been awhile," she whispered, smiling apologetically before grasping his erect penis and guiding him inside of her. She winced slightly as he stretched her opening, but she never once thought of stopping. It had been way too long, but as he started pumping slowly in and out of her and she felt the warm tingle begin deep in her gut, the wait seemed worth it.

She gripped his muscular rear, forcing him in deeper and earning her a low moan from his end.

"Oh bloody hell… You're so tight… I can't last much longer…"

"Shh… it's ok… Fuck… feels so good…"

She feathered his chest with kisses, biting and suckling him when the pleasure got too intense. With each thrust he seemed to drive deeper and deeper, triggering her nerve endings from her clit and the inside.

"I'm going to- I'm going to- to come…" Hermione moaned out. As soon as she'd said it, she felt the onset of her orgasm sweep through her, and she shuddered and moaned, sending him into orgasmic bliss alongside her.

"That was…"

"Wow…"

Once their heart rates had returned to an almost normal pace, she turned to face him. Even in the dark she could see a prominent red mark right in the middle of his chest. Never before had she gotten so out of control and left a mark on someone like that. It made her laugh.

"Nice job you little vixen," he grumbled at her.

"You have a third nipple… Ha!"

Draco looked at her sourly for a moment before pouncing on top of her, determined that she would not be laughing when he was done with her for the second time….

_*_*_*_

Hermione didn't want to open her eyes. She knew she was dreaming, but if a dream could make her feel so calm and content, then she definitely didn't want it to end. A strong arm was draped protectively around her waist, and the rising and falling of her bedmate's chest was gently pressing against her back, lulling her into tranquility. She breathed a deep sigh and her lungs filled with the scent of freshly ground coffee beans.

Now she knew she really was dreaming. Before she only claimed to be dreaming, when in fact she knew where she was, her eyes were just closed. But now that she could smell coffee, she knew she was actually still unconscious, and not lost and naked in bed with Draco Malfoy in a shack in the middle of nowhere. Maybe she had dreamt the entire thing.

Thinking that she was doing entirely too much thinking for a person supposedly still asleep, she slowly forced her eyes open and sat up. Unfortunately, this did not solve the mystery of if she was awake or not. Yes, Draco was at her side, but they weren't in some rundown abandoned shack, they were in what appeared to be a cozy little cabin, equipped with a small kitchen and even a fireplace and a couch. Even the bed was different than what she'd remembered. There were clean white sheets and a thick flowered quilt, even fluffy pillows on which Hermione was surprised she'd slept on.

She pinched herself. It hurt, but she was still unconvinced. She grabbed two strands of hair and plucked them from her head. It hurt again. No, she was definitely awake. Could things really look so different at night?

She slowly inched her way out of the bed, noticing the second the cool air hit her bare nipple that she was still naked from the night's festivities. A second later she saw for the first time, that there was a bathrobe hanging over the couch by the fireplace, neither of which she had taken in the night before, and when she went to put her feet on the cold wooden floor, she found a pair of comfy slippers right next to the bed.

She quickly dressed and practically ran to the steaming coffee pot in the kitchen to pour herself a cup. There was some odd type of magic going on here. Hermione was almost about to wake Malfoy and ask him if it was his idea of a sick joke, when a yelp from the bed told her that it was too late.

"What the- Is it just me or does this place look a little different in the light?" he asked her, staring at the unfamiliar surroundings as if they were dancing and singing to him.

"You noticed, huh?" she asked casually, feeling unusually generous and pouring a cup of coffee for him as well. She brought it over to him and perched herself on the edge of the bed.

"Where'd you get the robe?" he questioned once he had taken a long sip from his mug.

"Couch," was all she replied as she pointed to the squashy sofa positioned by the fireplace… that now held a roaring fire.

"I see… And where'd you get the couch?" he asked again, just as casually as the first question. For some reason Hermione found this extremely funny, and she fell back onto the bed, consumed in a little fit of the giggles.

After several minutes she had composed herself, only to lose it again when Draco got out of bed to get his own bathrobe that had mysteriously appeared, and Hermione saw the little red bite mark on his chest, otherwise known as his "third nipple."

"I wouldn't laugh if I were you… Next time you're getting four," he growled out.

Hermione blushed deeply and stopped laughing. Next time? What next time? Hadn't this just been a temporary lapse in sanity brought on by extreme sexual tension and a bed and two naked people, nothing more nothing less?

"There will be no 'next time,'" she spoke, looking determinedly at the floor. "There shouldn't even have been a first time. Now, let's just find a map or something so we can get out of here."

Though she desperately wanted to see his reaction to her statement, she was too afraid to look his way to catch it. She therefore didn't see the look of sheer hurt and disappointment that crossed his face for the briefest of moments. When she finally turned to face him he was back to normal, wearing his trademark smirk to mask any emotion.

"Well I suppose we could leave if you want to get us lost again," he sneered at her.

"Or maybe you could fall in a frozen lake again and make me come rescue you," she glared back.

"Good idea, then you can get me naked again and pretend like you don't like it."

"Pretend? Like I'd waste my acting skills on you!"

"Just like I wasted the skills of my tongue on your ungrateful clit!"

"Why would I be grateful that a giant slug crawled between my legs and died!?"

"Slug? SLUG?" he yelled, diving on top of her and making them both topple onto the newly erected couch. "I'll show you slug…"

Hermione squealed in fright as she felt his hands tear open the front of the robe. A second later he had her completely exposed. She tried to crawl backwards and away from him, but one look from his steely grey eyes stopped her in her tracks. He gripped either side of her thighs and spread them almost painfully wide. Without taking his eyes off her swollen pink mound, he knelt down on the floor until he was barely an inch away, and she could feel his hot breath tickling her glistening flesh.

"Draco don't…" Hermione whispered, but there was no real conviction behind her words.

Draco's smirk widened, but instead of stopping he used one hand to spread her inner lips, then slowly ran his tongue from her crevice to her clit, with an extra flourish on her sensitive button that made her cry out. He repeated the gesture, agonizingly slow… over and over again until her legs were convulsing and she had tears in her eyes. She was on the brink of an orgasm so strong she didn't know if she'd even stay conscious. Her toes curled as she thrashed her head from side to side, crying out for Draco to put an end to this torture, but if anything his strokes slowed even further.

She knew what he wanted, it was giving it to him that was the problem. Just then a particularly skillful move by his tongue in her shuddering cavern caused her legs to jerk violently. One more lick on her clit would send her over the edge, but now he seemed to be avoiding that little bud, coming so close but then backing away. It was the most exquisite pain she had ever felt, but she couldn't take it any more.

"You're not…" she moaned out.

"Mmm hmm…" he hummed in response, still not giving her what she so desperately needed.

"You're not a slug… You're not a slug… YOU'RE NOT A SLUG!" she yelled, just as his tongue pressed against her throbbing clit and his plunged two fingers deep into her opening, sending her crashing over the edge. Waves of pleasure pulsed through her entire body as she shuddered and convulsed.

No, Malfoy was definitely not a slug.

They spent the rest of the afternoon curled up on the little couch by the fire, relaxing, joking and chatting. When it started to get dark, Hermione walked around the room, lighting the candles that had somehow appeared on the shelves around the quaint little cabin. The last of the candles was over the mantel of the fireplace, where there was also a single picture frame that Hermione hadn't noticed before. There were two young men in the photo in front of what they could only assume was this very cabin. One of the men had twinkling blue eyes that looked oddly familiar...

"Dumbledore!" she exclaimed, almost dropping the frame in shock.

"What? Where?"

"Look," Hermione said, handing him the picture. "It's Dumbledore!"

"And Grindelwald," Draco added softly.

"How… strange…"

"Yeah…"

They both stared at the frame for a few silent minutes, just watching the two boys laugh and hug one another until Hermione noticed the corner of a piece of paper sticking out from under the edge. She quickly took it and read aloud.

"Welcome to the Cabin of Anti-Requirement: Because humans rarely know what they really need, even when it's staring them right in the face."

Hermione looked up from the card and found herself face to face with Draco. His smirk was gone; he was simply smiling at her. A smile that seemed to warm her from the inside out.

"I found us some Floo Powder," he said. He threw a handful of the powder into the fire and the bright green flames erupted behind them. He took a step towards the hearth, while Hermione just waved dumbly behind his back, lost in shock and awe. The cabin had done all this to them, like some kind of matchmaking service. When they were frozen and wet all it gave them was a single blanket and a bed, so they would have to share and use each other for warmth. It was the push they had needed to realize their feelings, only they never knew they needed it.

"So, my place or yours?" Draco asked, breaking her away from her thoughts.

"What?"

"Well I guess mine isn't a good idea. There are so many guests there for the holidays I'd never get you to myself. How about your flat over Ollivander's?"

"No…" Hermione shook her head.

"What do you mean 'no?' You really want to spend Christmas listening to my Great Great something-or-other lecture you on pureblood nobility?"

"No, I think I'll pass on that. What I meant was no, it's not my place, it's _ours_."

He ran to her and hugged her to him, spinning her around on the spot before planting a kiss directly on her lips.

"Happy Christmas, Draco."

"Happy Christmas, love."

Newlywed style, he carried her into the flames.

"Our place."

**The End**

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If you aren't too busy vomiting from all the fluff could you please review? It would be much appreciated. Thank you all for reading, it has been a pleasure writing for you all, and I do apologize that it took so long to get this done. Now to finish my other stories… any preference on which gets done first?

Happy Halloween!

-Alexis


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